Martell Displays Mastery of Theros in Sacramento

Sunday, January 19, 2014

The Pro Tour Gatecrash Champion put up impressive finishes in his games all weekend here at Grand Prix Sacramento, but it was his Top 8 performance that truly showed off his mastery at Theros Limited. Martell's black-white deck featured an impressive range of creatures and plays. While his deck could take an early game lead thanks to his solid heroic creatures, his cards were also capable of locking up a win should the game go late.

And it didn't matter whether his games went early or late in the Top 8. Martell battled his way through three rounds in the Top 8 playoff, winning games that looked far from salvageable for the Northern California resident. Martell's victory in Sacramento marks his second Grand Prix victory, making this his third major Magic win alongside his victories at Grand Prix Indianapolis 2012 and at Pro Tour Gatecrash.

Sacramento has continued to show that Theros evolves with each major event. Card evaluations have changed, and new or undervalued draft strategies have taken center stage this weekend. Martell's Top 8 performance with black-white has given new life to the color combination as one of the format's most solid Limited archetypes.

Congratulations once again to Tom Martell on his victory, and to all those who helped Grand Prix Sacramento become California's largest ever Grand Prix.

Top 8 Draft Recap – Drafting a Top 8 Deck with Tom Martell

by Jacob Van Lunen

Tom Martell is currently ranked 13th in the world on the Top 25 Pro Rankings. This is Martell's fifth Grand Prix Top 8. Coming into the Top 8 Draft here in Sacramento, Martell strongly favored Blue/White Heroic as an archetype. Let's see how things went for the Pro Tour Gatecrash Champion.

The next pack had Griptide, Hopeful Eidolon, and God's Willing. Griptide was likely the strongest card in the pack, but taking one of the others would keep Martell's options open. God's Willing ended up being the pick.

The next pack didn't offer up a lot in the way of Black, White, or Blue cards, but Ordeal of Erebos and Sip of Hemlock came to the front of the pack. Martell's aggressive style makes Ordeal of Erebos a very strong card in the decks he likes to draft.

Martell's next choice was between a third copy of God's Willing and Insatiable Harpy. Martell decided to pick up the lifelinking flyer that combos nicely with bestow creatures and Scrougemark over a third copy of the one-mana instead.

Tom Martell may have wanted a Blue/White Heroic deck, but he was passed a very strong Black/White deck with some incredibly aggressive draws. Stay tuned for coverage of Grand Prix Sacramento to find out how Martell and his Black/White deck fare against the rest of the Top 8.

Quarterfinal – Aaron Lewis vs. Andy Voellmer

by Mike Rosenberg

Aaron Lewis, who earned his first Grand Prix Top 8 at Grand Prix Charlotte last year, hails from Madison, Wisconsin. His opponent, Andy Voellmer, made a short drive from Berkeley, California down this weekend to compete. The result for his decision is a qualification for Pro Tour Journey Into Nyx and his first Grand Prix Top 8.

The Decks

Aaron Lewis has the often underrated blue-red archetype, along with many of the strategy's key cards. Flamespeaker Adept and Aqueous Form work very well together, and both are found in Lewis's deck. However, it isn't just these synergies that Lewis can fall back on, as Bident of Thassa gives him access to a very powerful rare that can keep his hand stocked with goodies, including quick aggressive creatures as well as removal.

Andy Voellmer's deck is a little slower, but it can pack a punch. His green-black archetype has plenty of solid green creatures, along with some solid black removal and heavy-hitting creatures like Gray Merchant of Asphodel.

Bident of Thassa followed after that, and Voellmer, who was stuck on green mana only, struggled to keep up. He found a Swamp, his fourth land, on the next turn, which allowed him to pop his Flamecast Wheel targeting the Adept, but Lewis had Voyage's End to save his creature. The Adept came down on the next turn, and a sequence of a second Aqueous Form, a Rage of Purphoros, and two unblockable attacks earned Lewis the game and the match.

"I guess I'll see you at the Pro Tour!" Voellmer said, offering the handshake.

Lewis 2 – Voellmer 0

Quarterfinal – Adam Mancuso vs. Eric Pei

by Mike Rosenberg

This Quarterfinals match featured two Californians facing off in their first Grand Prix Top 8. Adam Mancuso hailed from Santa Monica, while Eric Pei was just a short drive away from San Francisco.

The Decks

Eric Pei's blue-white heroic deck was capable of some very aggressive starts, thanks in part to some solid two-mana creatures like Battlewise Hoplite and Phalanx Leader. However, it also had access to some large blockers with multiple copies of Coastline Chimera, a solid flying blocker that could hold back creatures while his heroic creatures stayed on offense.

Mancuso's deck, on the other hand, was much more about big ground creatures. His green-red concoction was capable of some brutal starts thanks to Two-Headed Chimera and his bestow creatures, but the deck also had access to a nasty mythic in the form of Xenagos, the Reveler.

Unable to stop the board, Mancuso did what he could, trading when available and deploying a very large Vulpine Goliath onto the table. However, the Heliod's Emissary made blocking effectively moot, and the Phalanx Leader duo powered through for a first game win.

The Hoplite traded with the Nylea's Disciple on the next attack from Mancuso, and it was replaced with heliod's Emissary on the next turn. Mancuso, however, had Fade into Antiquity lying in wait for the enchantment creature, and Destructive Revelry on the Sable put Pei in a bind.

However, Pei had a bestowed Thassa's Emissary on the already bestowed Evangel, giving him a 5/7 lifelink attacker that would draw him cards if Mancuso simply let the attacks go through. When Pei sent in his massive creature, Mancuso opted to triple block it with the Nessian Courser, Leafcrown Dryad, and Spearpoint Oread. Battlewise Valor punished Mancuso for that block, as he lost all three of his creatures, and Pei's life total jumped from 2 to 9.

Mancuso continued playing for a few turns, but the game appeared to be over. When a land awaited him on top after another attack from Pei's Evangel, he offered the handshake.

Mancuso 0 – Pei 2

Quarterfinal Roundup

by Jacob Van Lunen

Tom Martell vs Ryan Miller

Tom Martell is currently ranked 13th in the Top 25 Pro Rankings. This weekend is the Pro Tour Gatecrash winner's fifth Grand Prix Top 8. His opponent, Ryan Miller, is a California Native in his first Grand Prix Top 8.

Martell sculpted his hand with Read the Bones as he continued to trade blows with Miller, who was falling behind in the race.

Miller eventually found Magma Jet to deal with Wingsteed Rider, but Martell was able to follow-up with Dauntless Onslaught on his remaining two heroic creatures. Miller, at a lowly 2 life, couldn't find an answer on the top of his deck and was forced to concede after chump blocking for a turn.

Game 2:

Miller got off to a decent start in the second game with Fable Hero and Wingsteed Rider. Meanwhile, Martell suffered mana issues and tried to hold onto his life total long enough to stabilize.

Martell turned up the heat the following turn with Scourgemark and Lagonna-Band Elder, but Miller was able to trade some creatures and leave the board cleared while he had three cards in hand to Martell's one.

Unfortunately for Miller, the last card in Martell's hand was Scholar of Athreos, and it started draining Miller right away.

Miller played Fanatic of Mogis and started racing, but the Scholar was ahead thanks to Martell's early aggression.

Heliod's Emissary was found by Martell when Miller tapped out, leaving Miller at only 2 life.

Miller couldn't deal with the Scholar of Athreos and found himself drained to death on the following turn.

The second game was much slower. Maliszekski used Burnished Hart and Opaline Unicorn to massively accelerate his mana. Bow of Nylea came down and it was clear that Maliszekski would have enough mana to activate it every turn.

Semifinal – Aaron Lewis vs. Philip Yam

by Mike Rosenberg

While Madison resident Aaron Lewis is adding another solid Limited record to his Magic career, with his performance today being his second Grand Prix Top 8, San Francisco native Philip Yam was not ready to stop winning yet.

The Decks

Lewis's blue-red deck packs some powerful synergies and features many creatures that just love getting suited up with Aqueous Form. Alongside these synergies are a few powerful rare threats, including Bident of Thassa and Master of Waves.

Philip Yam's blue-black deck, however, is not short of any powerful cards. Aside from the unsurprising assortment of brutal common and uncommon options in both colors, Yam also has some solid blue rares such as Prognostic Sphinx and the mighty Thassa, God of the Sea.

Lewis, however, had his own mythic in the form of Master of Waves, which made three elemental tokens. The now 3/2 Vaporkin attacked in, dropping Yam to 15. Yam, however, was not out of the game by any means. Prognostic Sphinx brought Thassa's devotion to the required amount, and it attacked in alongside Vaporking, prompting Lewis to block Thassa with one of his elemental tokens. The Vaporkin continued its attack, allowing Lewis to scry through his deck thanks to Aqueous Form. He dropped Wavecrash Triton and Satyr Rambler post-combat and passed back to Yam.

Aaron Lewis

However, Thassa began to do her work. Yam made his god unblockable, and attacks dropped Lewis to 6. When no answer to Thassa's devoted army awaited Lewis on top, Lewis moved on to the second game.

Yam was the first to act despite being on the draw in the second game with Triton Fortune Hunter. It was met by Purphoros's Emissary, which Lewis opted not to block with when Yam attacked in with his Fortune Hunter. The 2/2 creature was joined by Cavern Lampad after that, as Yam passed back.

Lewis was content with the decision, as he gave his Emissary the Ordeal of Purphoros. It was sent in for 4. Yam sent in his two creatures, dropping Lewis to 14, but when he passed with five mana open, Lewis's decisions became a lot harder. When Lewis sent in his Emissary, Griptide promptly sent the creature to the top of Lewis's deck. Boon of Erebos saved his creature from Rage of Purphoros...at least until the text was pointed out that this wouldn't save a creature from the sorcery Lewis just cast. Without regeneration able to save his Cavern Lampad, Yam was now down a trick as well as a creature.

When an attack and a draw with the Bident turned over no answers for Lewis, the Madison player offered the handshake.

Lewis 0 – Yam 2

Semifinal – (13) Tom Martell vs. Eric Pei

by Mike Rosenberg

No. 13 Ranked Player and Pro Tour Gatecrash Champion Tom Martell has added his fifth Grand Prix Top 8 appearance to his Magic record with this weekend's finish here in Sacramento. His opponent, Eric Pei from San Francisco, has also put up an impressive finish this weekend, earning him his first Grand Prix Top 8.

The Decks

Martell's black-white deck has multiple modes of attacking its opponent. From its aggressive early heroic creatures to its card advantage and Scholar of Athreos, Martell has the ability to win at any point of the game, giving his deck a lot of flexibility.

Pei's blue-white heroic deck is capable of both as well. While his early game features solid heroic creatures, his late game is capable of locking down most attacks until a timely Sea God's Revenge can clear the path to victory.

The Games

Pei was first onto the board with Battlewise Hoplite, which was met with Martell's own heoric creature, the devastatingly powerful Phalanx Leader. Pei had Chosen by Heliod for his Hoplite, and it attacked in for 3. The Leader was sent in for 1 from Martell and was joined by Lagonna-Band Elder post-combat. Pei, however, had back-to-back Coastline Chimeras to hold down the fort as well. It was joined by a third one on the next turn. "That's a lot of Coastlines," Martell remarked.

That being said, he still couldn't make a beneficial attack through Pei's one untapped Coastline Chimera and his smaller non-flying creatures. Pei thought long and hard before his next play. "Heliod's Emissary on who?" Martell asked when Pei went to tap seven mana.

The game settled down after that big attack, with neither player able to make any reasonable attacks. Martell found a Heliod's Emissary of his own, which entered the battlefield as a creature on its own, allowing Martell to pass with three open and two cards in hand.

Pei sent in his team, aside from one Coastline Chimera, opting to tap the Favored Hoplite with Heliod's Emissary. The Observant Alseid jumped in front of the Emissary, and Battlewise Valor ensured the Emissary would die while Martell's Alseid would live. When Martell sent in his Hoplite and Alseid, Pei used his Chimera's effect and blocked both creatures. The attackers failed to do any real damage, and Martell followed with Lagonna-Band Elder, gaining 3, and Scholar of Athreos before passing back. Pei sent in his Sable, which Martell promptly blocked with the Alseid to trade. Pei followed with his own Phalanx Leader before passing back with six open.

Pei came out of the gates of the second game with a speedy start in Battlewise Hoplite and Calvary Pegasus. Martell had a solid retort though with Wingsteed Rider, giving him a way to hold back the Pegasus at the very least. The Hoplite was sent in, and was joined by Pei's own copy of the 2/2 flying creature on the next turn.

Martell then played an Island, an unexpected occurrence given his black-white deck in the first game. He passed with four open, and then used those lands to Griptide Pei's Wingsteed Rider when it attacked in on the next turn. While Pei had a follow-up Coastline Chimera, Martell saw the coast was clear and opted to bestow Observant Alseid on his Wingsteed Rider, attacking in for 5 while Pei was tapped out.

With the Wingsteed Rider picking away Pei's flying creatures one by one, and with the Scholar of Athreos slowly draining Pei's life away, the game was locked up by multiple angles. When no miracles were awaiting Pei in the next few turns, he offered the handshake.

Martell 2 – Pei 0

Finals – Tom Martell vs. Philip Yam

by Jacob Van Lunen

Tom Martell arrived to the feature match area like a rock star. A line of spectators held their hands up and excitedly high-fived the Pro Tour Gatecrash Champion as he made his way to the table. Philip Yam walked around the table, sat down, and pensively studied his opponent's decklist. This may have been Yam's first Grand Prix Top 8, but he showed no sign of nervousness.

An attack from Yam sparked Martell's curiosity. "Triton Tactics," he said aloud. He decided to only attack with his flyer after using a Scourgemark to give it three toughness and Yam had the Triton Tactics Martell suspected.

Yam's lifetotal was getting dangerously low, especially considering the Scholar of Athreos on the other side of the table. Martell did a bit of combat math, paused, and attacked with all of his creatures. Yam fell to three life and the six lands Martell had in play were enough to end the game with his Scholar of Athreos over the next turn cycle.

Ordeal of Erebos let Martell get aggressive and he attacked through the Charlatan. Having seen Yam's decklist it was clear to Martell that he needed to win quickly and didn't have room to play around cards like Griptide.

Top 5 Cards of Grand Prix Sacramento

Shipbreaker Kraken offers up a massive body that's capable of ending the game on its own if left unchecked when it becomes monstrous. Philip Yam used the card to tremendous success in the quarterfinals against Nathannael Maliszekski. Maliszekski had an active Bow of Nylea for the entirety of the second game, but Yam's Shipbreaker Kraken locked down a boa

Gods Willing is a cheap tool that effectively counters more expensive removal spells and allows players to crash through for the final necessary points of damage. The card was cited by multiple players in the Top 8 as the most important card in their Day 1 sealed pool. Grand Prix Sacramento Champion Tom Martell had two copies of the instant in his Top 8 draft deck. The card proved invaluable as it won Martell his quarterfinal match, and allowed him to sneak through for lethal damage in the first game of the semifinals.

In a format without a lot of hard removal, ways of breaking through creature stalemates become invaluable. Aqueous Form is a card that has been put to great use in previous Grand Prix Top 8 matches, and it has continued to impress this weekend. The unassuming one-mana enchantment allows players to push through with creatures ranging from the small and heroic to the large and monstrous, and takes the option of chump-blocking a behemoth until one can find a solution to a menacing creature away from opponents.

It also makes for a very killer combo with Flamespeaker Adept, turning the two power three toughness red creature into a powerful clock that also smooths out your draws with each attack. We saw the Adept and Aqueous Form combination used to great effect in the Quarterfinals, when Aaron Lewis put Andy Voellmer in a position where he was forced to start chump-blocking before he could get any real offense going.

If there was any doubt as to whether or not Keepsake Gorgon is the best uncommon in Theros Limited, there is no question about it now. The five-mana monstrosity creature has proven itself to be the best uncommon in this set's Sealed and Booster Draft formats.

Keepsake Gorgon, when brought up with players such as Luis Scott-Vargas, was easily recognized by them as the number one card they wanted to open in Sealed, and it was also one of the most influential cards for players looking to move into or force a deck with black cards in Booster Draft. In a format with a limited amount of removal, the Gorgon provides a rare and powerful effect in Theros Sealed and Booster Draft. We saw this put to great effect in the Semifinals, when Philip Yam locked up the game against Aaron Lewis thanks to his Keepsake Gorgon taking out Lewis's only remaining creature to leave him helpless.

However, monstrosity effect aside, the Gorgon is simply hard to attack into profitably at all! A two power, five toughness deathtouch creature is very difficult to overcome in this format, especially in Sealed, when the game is often decided by a very large monstrosity creature like Nessian Asp that still trades with the Gorgon regardless of its size.

Scholar of Athreos is a card that comes around quite late. Black/White isn't a particularly popular draft archetype and, as a result, it's easy to table this powerful endgame mana-sink. The card was responsible for Martell's victory in game three of the quarterfinals, it put his opponent in range for a lethal attack out of nowhere in game one of the semifinals, and it locked up the finals in decisive fashion. The card put Martell's opponents in spots where they were forced to get aggressive and race. This let Martell act second with his instants and gave him the tactical advantage in each of his matches. Often overlooked, Scholar of Athreos had its time to shine this weekend in Sacramento!